The short answer is yes, and the notarial supervision the Law requires covers not just the result but the whole process. Article 8/1(p): “It shall be mandatory that surveys and opinion polls conducted or commissioned by a media service provider be carried out in the presence of a notary from the preparatory stage to the announcement of the results.”
Whose polls are covered
The sub-paragraph names two acts: “conducted or commissioned”. The notarial requirement therefore applies whether the poll was carried out by the channel’s own team or ordered from a research company. What matters is that it is the media service provider’s own poll.
| Situation | Notary required | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| A poll conducted by the channel’s own team | Yes | “conducted” |
| A poll the channel commissions from a company | Yes | “commissioned” |
| Reporting on a poll a third body conducted on its own initiative | The sub-paragraph does not require it directly | The poll was not conducted or commissioned by the media service provider |
The whole process: “from the preparatory stage to the announcement of the results”
This is the most demanding aspect. The notary supervises not only the announcement of the result but the process from beginning to end. The stages covered by that phrase are:
- Preparation of the questionnaire
- Determination of the sample and field plan
- Conduct of the fieldwork
- Collection and processing of the data
- Calculation of the results
- Announcement of the results
In practice this requires the polling process to be recorded before a notary. Having only a result certificate drawn up does not satisfy the words “from the preparatory stage”.
An additional regime during election periods
For election-period polls, Law No. 6112 alone is not enough. Under Article 30/1 “the procedures and principles concerning broadcasts made during election periods in connection with elections shall be regulated by the Supreme Election Council”. Under Article 30/2 RTUK monitors, supervises and evaluates broadcasters’ election-period output in line with the Supreme Election Council’s decisions.
Two layers therefore apply together to election polls: the notarial requirement in Article 8/1(p) and the procedures and principles the Supreme Election Council has set for that election. Checking the Council’s decisions before an election period begins is essential.
Sanctions
Article 8/1(p) is not among the grave sub-paragraphs listed in Article 32/1. A breach therefore falls under Article 32/2: an administrative fine of one to three per cent of the gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding detection, not less than TRY 1,000 for radio undertakings and TRY 10,000 for television undertakings and on-demand media service providers.
What should appear on screen
The Law does not list the information to be displayed, but the accuracy principle and the source requirement in Article 8/1(ı) make the following minimum credit necessary in practice:
- The name of the body that conducted or commissioned the poll
- The date range of the fieldwork
- Sample size and the settlements covered
- Interview method (face to face, telephone, online)
- Margin of error and confidence interval
- The fact that it was carried out in the presence of a notary
A poll is not a viewer vote
“What do you think” style viewer votes run on screen are not scientific opinion polls and make no claim to representativeness. But where such a feature is run through a charged means of communication a separate prohibition may apply: Article 8/1(ö) bans competitions and lotteries by means of information and communication devices and the giving of prizes to viewers, while Article 8/4 targets practices run through premium-rate numbers.
The competition ban is covered in the competitions guide and election rules in the election period guide.